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The lady is a tramp: On getting my bits touched by the TSA
By Lesley | April 18, 2011
I was faced with the new airport scanner technology for the first time immediately prior to flying back from San Franscisco in early March. The machines in SFO were not the ominous black-box Rapiscan monsters of ill radiation-dosing repute, but a clear tube with two scanning pillars that rotate around the scanee. I was pulled randomly from the regular bag-x-ray-and-metal-detector line for this privilege, and it was only when I found myself inside said plexiglas tube—which was very shiny and Total-Recall-ish and thereby more intriguing than scary—that I realized what was happening.
The woman on the exit side of my tube instructed me to place my feet on the footprints helpfully appliqued to the floor, and to raise my arms, elbows bent, palms facing out. Unfortunately, my first scan was a wash, as it seems I have a hard time raising my hands in the air without also waving them like I just don't care, and so during the first go-round I did a little impromptu dance, which blurred the results. "PLEASE STAND STILL, MA'AM," barked the exit-door lady, once the botched scan had completed, but there was a trace of amusement in her voice—I believed my dance to be saucy and appropriate for a clear-tube go-go performance, so I felt validated. On the second scan, I stood still, and they let me leave to get on my plane.
Leaving Fort Lauderdale this past Saturday, I was faced with the aforementioned Rapiscan machines, and truth be told, if they'd looked shinier and more futuristic, the notion of opting out probably wouldn't have crossed my mind. Oh, I am a simple thing, when it comes to flying, prone to extreme anxiety, and so any vivid distraction, even one that comes with x-rays, is a welcome sight. Where the SFO scanners—which I assume are made by L-3 Communications, the other company contracted to supply them—looked like human-sized pneumatic tubes, or alien-spaceship sleep pods, the Rapiscan machines look like two big dark boxes with a three-foot space between them. Also, at FLL, it seemed everyone was dutifully tromping through the scanners, instead of just random selectees. My husband and I stuffed our carry-ons into the x-ray machine and then got in line for scanning. Again, we had helpful footprints on the floor to instruct us where to stand, as though standing in line itself is a murky, unfamiliar process, requiring clear instructions.
My husband popped between the boxes and raised his hands in the now-familiar stance, and my heart began to race. We were early to the airport, so time was not a factor. For some reason, I really didn't want to stand between those boxes with my feet planted and my arms raised. It's not the resulting seminude pictures that bothered me—on a strictly personal level, I don't give a toss if the aptly dubbed "pornoscanner" images are stored or deleted or wanked off to or whatever, though I support the outrage against this as an invasion of privacy for the majority of participants. (In other words, I would never argue that this should not bother anyone, simply because it doesn't bother me.) Likewise, it wasn't the radiation issue that was preying on my mind, as if I was worried about radiation exposure I wouldn't be flying at all.
I was angry at the principle of the thing, at the expectation that people will just go along, docile as cows, and trust that whatever they're told to do is necessary and right. And so when my husband stepped out of the scanner and the machine's attendees smilingly beckoned me in, I stood firm. "Um, can I opt for the pat-down?" I inquired, more meekly than I meant. The gentleman on the unscanned side confirmed that I wanted to opt out; apparently doing so meant holding up my progress, as a special lady-patter-downer would have to be located. There was a slight tension in the air; I'd willfully gummed up the smoothly-running scanning machine. After a few moments of confusion, I was told to step to the side until summoned.
I didn't have to wait long. My successfully-scanned husband, unaware of my last-minute decision to opt out, stood on the other side and was just reapplying his shoes and belt when a woman in TSA blues—henceforth, The Ladygroper—came through the fray and led me between the machines to a far corner of the security space. I shouted at my husband to guard my laptop whilst I was patted-downed, but I needn't have bothered, as the TSA employees helpfully brought my stuff over to a table in my corner for me.
I felt much calmer in patdown town, watching the neverending flow of beltless and shoeless bodies coming through the scanner process like a river of potential terrorists, or a Where's Waldo picture, only if Waldo had explosive underpants on instead of a pom-pommed and striped hat. I felt more like a person, is what it was. The Ladygroper, who was calm and polite and professional, explained that I was about to receive a thorough going-over. This included the "upper thigh area", which struck me as vague code for "I will be touching your bits." She also explained that she would use the backs of her hands over my boobs, instead of the palms. I almost laughed. It's as if someone at the TSA looked up "groping" and decided that groping requires use of the palms, so this can't possibly be offensive to anyone! She then asked if I'd prefer a "private" screening, which struck me incongruously like being offered a private lap dance in the back room of a strip club. No, I don't want a bottle of champagne, we can do it right here. Finally, she asked if there was any part of my body that might be painful to the touch—any part at all—and that I should tell her if so. "I'm ticklish," I said, and she paused apprehensively. "I may just giggle a lot," I explained.
First she tested her gloves for explosives, and then the pat-down began. The Ladygroper started on my back, at the top, feeling my neck and under my hair, moving on to my arms and shoulders, and then down my back. The butt area is also a place where the backs of the hands are used; I figured the TSA is trying to avoid any allegations that any part of anyone's body is ever, accidentally or intentionally, "cupped". I imagined the training: there'd be a Powerpoint slide that stated, emphatically, "DO NOT CUP ANYTHING, EVER." Probably with some clip art of a teacup. The tiny little distinctions here are fascinating, as there must have been a process to come up with a standardized means of establishing touch that is distressing and touch that is not, when in reality such standards are far too subjective to ever usefully apply.
The process continued. Over my hips. She felt my be-legginged legs, and gave a quiet warning that she was headed into that aforementioned "upper thigh area". Me being a fatty with thighs that meet, this involved her asking me to, uh, stand with my feet further apart so she could get up in there. Basically what happened next was a gentle karate-chop movement up the back and middle of each thigh, until she hit snatchtown.
At this point I will note that I was emphatically menstruating. In simpler terms, I was heavy-bleeding on an overnight-strength pad, which is a normal course of events for me, about two days of every month. So when the Ladygroper hit my bits the first time, there was a squish. I snorted. I couldn't help it. Poor Ladygroper had to do it again on the other thigh. Squish. Hey, at least she's wearing gloves.
From here, the festivities moved topside, and she explained again that she was using the backs of her hands over my breasts, see, there is no cupping going on here and the backs of the hands are an officially anti-sexual zone according to the US government. Over the bra, past the lungs, look out stomach here it comes. The Ladygroper spoke the whole time she was groping, not unlike when my doctor gives me a pelvic, and frankly, by this point the whole procedure was feeling very clinical to me. She felt the "waistband area", and I told her to let me know if my rolls gave her any trouble. Oh, we're doing the "upper thigh" thing again, from the front? Aiight. Squish, squish. If I weren't wearing a pad, the Ladygroper would indeed have done some unobstructed labia-bouncing, but things being as they were, Always Infinity came between me and my TSA screener.
I was wearing a dress, because I am always wearing a dress, so the snatch-bumping was not visible to anyone who might have been watching, my husband included. And yet he was still terrifically freaked out after the fact: "I just watched some stranger GROPE my WIFE!" He also didn't understand why I'd opted for the pat-down, and while it was true that I was curious about it, I also felt somewhat more in control during the pat-down, which was a powerful thing given my existing travel anxiety. The Ladygroper re-tested the gloves she had now run all over my body for explosives. When they came up clean, I was allowed to go on my way, horrified husband in tow.
My overall, individual opinion? It wasn't that bad. If I wasn't in a hurry to get to the gate, I'd probably opt for the pat-down over the scan in future, but it's pretty rare that I'm not in a hurry to get to the gate, so my opportunities to explore this option are generally limited. It helped that my Ladygroper was friendly (har har) and polite and professional, but that's really a roll of the dice, as it easily could have gone another way. I found the gropefest less intrusive than a doctor's visit, but more intrusive than I expected. It was somewhat intense, and may be unbearable for a person reluctant or uncomfortable to be intimately touched by a stranger, no matter the origins of that reluctance.
The most interesting factor about this experience is that I now possess a fuller understanding of the dude-outrage that has progressed from these pat-downs. If you have testicles? They're gonna get touched. They'd likely get a bit of a workout, in fact. If you're a dude who has never been groped against your will, and who is typically socialized as masculine, this has got to be the most astonishing and unresolvable experience ever. There is a reason why the loudest voices of protest have been male: men are not socially conditioned to accept that groping may happen, occasionally, in shared spaces, and that they should not raise the alarm but should simply "let it go", that making a fuss would draw unwanted attention, that it isn't "worth it". Men have not spent their lives watching those who did speak up get condemned or blamed for their assault because they were "asking for it." Wil Wheaton wrote movingly about his anger and anxiety following a recent pat-down experience, and while I sympathize, part of me rages. This is not because these men don't have a right to feel assaulted: they do, uncategorically, they do. It's because women are less enabled to speak up and less likely to feel entitled to that same anger, especially women who have a history of sexual assault, because we are taught to go along, to reconcile, to be quiet and accept that these things are inevitable and justified and that's just how life is.
The choice between the scan or the grope is not a choice at all. We are instructed to either accept a technology that we may find unnerving, because of privacy issues or because of radiation concerns, or to be groped in a manner that will only be comfortable and acceptable to a very narrow margin of society. For most dudes, the problem is likely that this sort of unwanted touching is so unfamiliar. This is not to minimize sexual assault against men, which happens and is horrifyingly underreported, but the fact remains that cisgendered men are culturally entitled to express their indignation and outrage against this practice because it isn't something that happens to them on the regular, or at least, it isn't something they've been taught to accept as a part of being male. For most women, the problem is that this unwanted touching is too familiar, evocative of trauma or assault, and it exploits feminine conditioning to not make trouble, which is itself discomfiting, even without a past experience of violence. The possibility of sexual assault is culturally framed as a constant danger, and an inevitable part of feminine experience. The fear of opting out, of drawing attention and being a problem, is different for women than for men—women are supposed to reconcile, to be peacemakers, and to keep quiet. To step out of line is to throw a wrench into the works, to stop a well-oiled machine cold: this is not how women are socialized to behave.
I had wondered if my blood-heavy pad would be cause for alarm during my pat-down. I had even envisioned a performance-art demonstration of my bleedingness and the pad's necessity, which probably would have gotten me arrested as a biohazard risk, bent on menacing the skies with my gobs of socialist uterine lining and my persistent and Un-American lack of pregnancy. My Ladygroper didn't bat an eye at any of the squishing, however, and I got to walk away from the experience feeling as though I had made a choice with which I could be comfortable, in which I got the be an individual, in which I felt I had some semblance of control. For me it was a choice, but the same cannot be said for many people. There comes a point where we have to ask how much we're willing to sacrifice for the appearance of safety, and whose safety we're trying to protect, if not our own.
53 Comments
One of the things that would humanize the whole experience for me would be if the TSA found a damn sense of humor about the whole thing. I know that the job is very important and serious and all, but I've had so many experiences that would have been much more tolerable (and I'd have witnessed far fewer passenger mini-meltdowns) if there was more of a sense of 'hey, we're all people, let's just get this done'. I've gotten much more emphatic body searches done (in prisons, when visiting political prisoners in another country–double-teamed by two female guards) and even those women managed to call me 'Love' and have it come out non-ironic.
I, too, received a pat down. Mine was for radiation concerns, as I am on an immunosuppressant, and some doctors in California raised concerns about the radiation for those with compromised immune systems. Considering this and my hope for future non-mutant children, I went for the pat down. You raise good points that just because it seemed relatively safe/comfortable for me, I shouldn't expect that it feels that way for everyone. That being said, the TSA lady was very professional.
I asked my husband to opt out, as well, because I am trying to protect his sacred sperm. Again, I'd rather not have mutant children, if we can prevent it. His pat down was less thorough than mine. He recounted the details to me, and they didn't get nearly as close to his nether regions as they did to mine, which I found odd and a tad suspicious.
I thought about cracking jokes about "usually someone buys me dinner first before touching me like this," but I was hoping to avoid cavity searches, so I just kept my mouth shut and complied.
I am so glad that I don't have to fly anywhere. As long as scanners and pat-downs are going to be a part of the flying experience, I won't be flying anywhere on vacation, nor will I be leaving the country by ship if they decide scanners and pat-downs are necessary for ocean-going travel. I'll do all my traveling by car in the continental USA, thank you very much. I'm not risking my health with their scanners (ovarian cancer runs in my family) and no one touches me that intimately but my husband, even if I am fully clothed (not unless they want my fist or foot in their face). I'm sorry, but all their scanning and pat-downs aren't going to prevent a determined terrorist from blowing up or hijacking a plane. They're giving us a pretense of protection at the expense of our freedom to choose and our bodily autonomy. Sorry, I'm not buying it, and I refuse to give in to the government's bullying tactics in their pretense of "public safety".
so that's how it goes eh? Thanks for the play-by-play. I'm an incredibly nervous/anxious flyer and I keep forgetting about these new scanners that have been forced upon us. I'm glad I know what to expect either way, because when I can't imagine how it goes in my head, it makes me even more anxious.
I don't like that I have to choose between a full body scan or being "un-groped". But what I dislike most of all is the whole moneytrail behind the scanners, which gives me a feeling I can only imagine is similar to what you felt before opting out of the scanner. Outrage, that we have no say and we're just meant to accept it (even if I don't accept it, I'll be forced to do it if I want to fly, or visit another continent without the use of a boat).
We'll be flying this summer for the first time since the backscatter machines were instituted. I wouldn't mind them so much if it was clear that they actually helped catch, you know, terrorists, but there has been no evidence of that. My husband and I have been debating the scan vs. the pat down, but because we have 2 young sons, it'll have to be the machine. There's a slight risk that scanner now might mean cancer later for growing boys, but I don't want them to think that strangers touching them is a good thing, when it isn't something they can consent to. Of course, they might still get patted down, if there's a problem with the scan and I'm not sure how I will react if that happens. I have a visceral reaction just thinking about it.
The last time I flew, I got the pat-down as well. This was not because of opting out of the scanner, but because the industrial-strength underwire in my awesome bra set of the standard metal detector. Every. Freaking. Time.
My experience wasn't quite so involved as yours, though I think it was probably the same procedure. They only felt up my inner thighs to the place where the chub starts to rub. Also, they asked me if I wanted to go someplace private, and I said no. I felt safer having it done in public, thanks.
Due to some personal stuff, I the new scanners and pat-down procedures really, really freak me out. I could undergo it, but I would truly rather not, to the point of driving when flying would be more convenient (so far I've done this once, but I don't have a job or other situation that requires travel, and I'm not sure how I'd handle it if that were the case).
I also wholeheartedly agree with Vesta, in that I don't believe that any of this BS is actually making us safer.
All of that said, if I had the opportunity to travel internationally, I'd deal with the airport gauntlet. Preferably with anti-anxiety medication handy. But it makes me nuts that we have to make these choices at all.
I am reading this waiting for my plane, having just gone through security. I was anxious about procedures for days in advance, dressed carefully to allow for modesty (I wear mostly dresses, too, and wore a split petticoat because it didn't want anyone frisking bare inner legs under my dress), avoided metal, prepared to opt out if the backscatters were on, for the same reason you mentioned. I wanted to feel more in control.
They weren't on, but then for some reason no one can explain, the alarms went off every time through the metal detector, so I had to have the patdown experience, too. Ugh. There isn't much choice in this situation after all.
Thanks for writing this. I totally giggled over your last paragraph, but you bring up such a fantastic point about how it's mostly men who are leading the charge about the invasiveness of the "advanced pat-down." That definitely gives me something to chew over (like you so often do!).
When we went to New York, we weren't given the option of the pat down. Fine by me as I was sexually assaulted repeatedly in junior high and even going to the doctor can have me in tears. The scan wasn't so bad, except they were rude to my mom who's partly wheelchair bound. She can walk and stand but not for long periods of time so the entire time she was in the machine she was swaying and they were mean to her. That was LAX.
JFK they were 100% jerks. Massively. They forced a worker on us to push mom. (*I'm* the one who operates her chair. I'm better at it than dad.) They confiscated our toothpaste because it was "over 3 oz." (Really it wasn't, it was about 3/4ths empty.) Though they did agree with dad that if they just did things the way Israel did there'd be no need for any of this crap. They were even ruder than LAX with mom. Forcing her to stand for nearly ten minutes going over her with the wand repeatedly just because her hair combs set off the metal detector. Finally we came to a ramp and the worker insisted she HAD to call someone else to help. Mom got pissed off, got out of her chair, grabbed it, and used it like a walker to walk herself down.
I think we need to redo the whole thing. I mean, have you seen the picture of the little boy – probably not even 8 years old – getting groped by the TSA? The man is full on grasping this kid's testicles. You can't tell me that doesn't do some mental damage.
Your observations about why men are the most vocal outraged voices is interesting and I can't believe it's something I hadn't heard talked about before. We've been talking about this a lot at our office lately. A lot.
Also "I'm ticklish," I said, and she paused apprehensively. "I may just giggle a lot," I explained."
That is me times a million. I laugh at the doctor, getting a massage and I'm sure getting groped by the TSA as well.
I get so conflicted about it because my initial reaction to the men complaining is 'you don't know NOTHING!', sometimes accompanied with an internal sneer. I don't like that reaction, but I have it every time and it's enough to disengage me from the conversation (I don't live in the US, so it's not a personal conversation, but still).
So I liked reading 'This is not because these men don't have a right to feel assaulted: they do, uncategorically, they do.' because this is what I try to remind myself, and it clarified for me that the outrage I feel is not that they feel assaulted. It's that there's (generally, or at least publicly) no one going 'oh… I guess this does suck. I guess being required to make my body available for 'the good of all' and then told to shut up and not be so emotional IS hateful. Huh.'
I faced the scanning machine in London flying to the US a few years back, and it was even wierder in that I had to stand in this ackward calf stretching position with my legs far apart and arms in the air. It was so uncomfortable. Still, I would prefer the machine to the patdown, which is par for the course for everyone on all US flights in major German airports (although its nothing to the level you describe). The last time we flew through Frankfurt we were with my then three year old son and he was searched by the lady who did me. She was laughing because he assumed the wide leg stance very proudly and when she was done, he announced, "now I'm all clean" in this very satisfied way. Either way, I didn't feel safer, and I doubt I will feel safe while flying no matter what.
I had a very unfortunate pat down in Frankfurt, Germany on a flight back to the US where a a pretty decent speed karate chop hit my vagina. I was horrified, but also late for my flight so never complained. I never had that experience in any other European airports though-and I fly back and forth a fair deal.
I have a metal screw or two in my knee that I always forget about until the metal detector beeps and they try to find what's causing it. At Heathrow last December they just waved a wand over me, shrugged and sent me through anyway. I was sorta scared of telling them about the screw because I didn't want them to send me away somewhere for a thorough body search. It was easier to just let them think it's a false positive or malfunctioning equipment instead.
Yes, I'm a wee bit cynical about the whole security theater thing. The stupid, it buuuuurns! You could have smuggled a dangerous amount of liquid explosives in the pad and it wouldn't have been detected. 😉
It's only 9:33am, but I'm fairly certain that "emphatically menstruating" will be the best phrase I hear today. Possibly the best phrase I'll hear all week.
I agree! If I'd been drinking milk at the time I read that, there would have been milk coming out my nostrils. Nice turn of phrase!
The whole situation makes me want to simultaneously throw up and cry. I am already getting worked up about flying out next Xmas to spend time with my boyfriend's family. Thankfully my local airport is very small and is (so far) doing only metal detectors and no pat-downs. But Seatac? I'm terrified. I narrowly escaped a pornoscanner last time I flew out of there.
I am most swayed by the invasion of privacy arguments here, though frankly I simply don't care that much about airport scanners. I just can't work up enough outrage/indignation/etc. I figure I'm probably being exposed to low doses of radiation or other carcinogens most of the time, so I can't complain about the scanner. And if some lame-ass wants to use my body scan for porno, well – I'LL never know about it. HOWEVER: I do appreciate the resistance to the Surveillance State, so – good on all of you for fighting the Man at the airport. Me, I'm waaay too consumed with anxiety about getting on my plane before it leaves to worry about cancer or groping or whatnot.
When these scanners were first introduced, and that guy in California freaked out because "dude they touched my junk!!!" I felt inexplicably angry. Your discussion of male discomfort here is helping me think through that anger. The fact that I, like many (most?) women have Protruding Body Parts at chest height, parts which are frequently brushed against, touched, or squeezed by strangers (usually unintentionally, sometimes intentionally and without my permission), makes me feel kind of unsympathetic to the guy whose "junk" gets touched. It has the ring of homophobia to it – another *guy* touched MY junk! ewww! But it also feels like, because of aforementioned protrusion of boobs: guy, just get over it. Your junk is not some sacred temple.
But I've got it backwards – I think. Maybe my sense of "just get over it" is wrong in all cases. Maybe I should be regarding every part of my body as MINE and sacred templey and therefore off-fucking-limits to anyone who doesn't get the explicit greenlight.
I'm not sure. I still think the "dude you touched my junk" complaint reeks of privilege and, more importantly, homophobia. But that doesn't mean it isn't ALSO a valid concern.
I do wonder, however, if the first really vocal complainants about these scanners had been women – how would those complaints have been received? Is it just when the precious, precious penis-Americans have their junk threatened that people are mobilized and outraged?
I'm also a little concerned about the language of "sexual assault" being applied to the pat-downs. I just read Wil Wheaton's post, and one of his commenters says "you just described sexual assault."
And I wonder about this. As a person who has never been sexually assaulted OR patted down at an airport (though once, oddly, rather thoroughly patted down before going into a Bob Dylan concert), I cannot say for sure, but I don't feel totally comfortable equating the incredibly invasive search with sexual assault. The searches are invasive and probably inappropriate and I think we should all be hollering from the rooftops about this. But knowing that an at least slightly trained quasi-professional will be touching your body while wearing gloves, in public, with at least your grudging consent, and your advance notice, and not for the gratification of any sexual or violent urges of be-gloved quasi-professional – just doesn't feel the same to me as the unexpected, unwanted, totally unconsensual attack that the term "sexual assault" signifies to me. You may feel violated by the TSA grope-down, and you should — but I do not feel 100% comfortable equating it was sexual assault.
I'd love for someone to correct me on this, btw.
I get what you're saying, but I'm gonna have to go with "sexual assault" as a term that gets to be defined by the assaulted party. Because in reality, sexual assault is not always (or even usually) as black and white as an "unexpected, unwanted, totally unconsensual attack."
The issue of consent here is difficult to untangle—yes, you are required to give your verbal consent for the pat-down to take place, but if you don't consent (to either the pat-down or the scan), you don't fly. For some people, that might be a viable choice—for others, maybe not. Consent under pressure isn't a great model of consent.
Obviously, there are a ton of variables that go into this experience, and for a lot of people it may not come anywhere near anything that could be called sexual assault. For others, though, I think that term can absolutely apply.
I am going to second the "I get what you're saying, but I'm gonna have to go with "sexual assault" as a term that gets to be defined by the assaulted party."
I've not had the pat downs, but I was sexually assaulted as a kid. [trigger warning for sexual assault]
I can see a lot of similarities. A figure of authority, touching me in ways I didn't want but didn't know how to stop, telling me that I shouldn't make a fuss, that will get us ALL in trouble and you wouldn't want us to be unsafe, would you? Guilt, shame, fear. Waiting it out because I just want it to be over. Yeah, there's not the same intent but I don't know how much of a difference that would make, if you were already distressed before being patted down. I think it would be pretty variable by person, but either way, they are NOT practising good consent.
(I sympathize with the WATB feelings; thanks for the post.)
I don't think these searches can be called consensual. I don't have a choice between flying and not-flying. It's like being searched every time I go to the supermarket. I can't buy a cow.
But apart from that, I think I'd argue the exact opposite. I think that it's more important to hold on to this perspective in the face of institutional theater or prerogative. I don't think there should be a prima facie difference between a groping for national security purposes and a groping. The reaction on the part of the gropee is often the same. Many travelers aren't too upset by it, but many are.
When we dismiss the physical facts of the interaction in favor of agency intent–he touched my son's genitals, she touched my breasts, they prodded my colostomy bag, he held my wrist, she shouted at me when I cried–then we ignore that subjectivity in favor of institutional demands on our bodily sovereignty and freedom. We stop asking questions about necessity, as for example in this case, when there's no real reason to suspect that pat-downs prevent attacks.
That leads to procedures like the labia lift (thankfully defunct; feel free to google, and get triggered all to fuck!). It endangers people whose lives are institutionalized or medicalized, including immigrants, prisoners, and many people with disabilities. It ignores the experiences of people who have met rapists in uniform. In general, it allows people working for institutions to argue that they have more right to batter, restrain, or invade your body than private citizens, and that they have little accountability to you as a person.
I thought this was funny: http://boingboing.net/2010/11/19/odds-of-cancer-from.html
The odds of getting cancer from a scanner are so low, according to this, that they're equal to the odds of being killed by a terrorist. So this makes us safer how?
I had to stop reading this blog for awhile, but I am so glad I clicked the link today! Fat While Travelling is my normal state of existence, but I never hear too much about it (other than "Get Your Own Armrest, Fatty!"). Thanks, Lesley, for opting out, and for humorously detailing the experience here. I'm moving to the Middle East this summer – can't help but fly – and dread having to make the choice between invasive scanner or invasive "pat-down". So far I've been able to avoid making a choice…but a little part of me dreads the day I do.
Which option is actually better? I carry a lot of body shame, so for me the question isn't really which is better, but which is worse: for some stranger to SEE my body, or for some stranger to TOUCH my body? I don't want either and cannot understand how my decision to work overseas means I must either give up my Constitutional rights or submit to a "mild" form of sexual assault.
I am SO wearing the bulkiest pad I can find if they're still doing this nonsense the next time I fly. This is the best travel tip I have EVER heard. While I feel for the guys, I'll feel no guilt whatsoever about using this.
I flew back in the fall for the first time in years, and was horrified to see Rapiscan machines in both airports (Cincinnati and OK City), despite those airports being then conspicuously absent from lists of Rapiscanning aiports. I'm deeply grateful that I was allowed to just pass meekly through the metal detectors.
Now that I know I can't trust the information the TSA is saying about their own programs, I'm avoiding flying wherever possible, which may get me another several years. But I will NOT be Rapiscanned, no no no, I don't care, I won't do it. Being groped by some woman is marginally preferable. I think it's a control and knowledge thing – I can see who's touching me and can make eye contact, try to make some kind of human-to-human connection, however fleeting. I can gauge whether she's enjoying this or is (hopefully) as uncomfortable as I am. But I have no idea who's looking at my Rapiscan image or what's being done with it, and that's just intolerable. If there were an issue with the pat-down and they tried to push me into getting scanned, I'll leave without flying. They can detain or sue or whatever they want to me.
I would also absolutely opt to remain in public for the pat-down. I'd much rather be uncomfortable in front of sympathetic witnesses – and remind those witnesses how awful this nonsense is. I could conceivably get upset enough to cry a bit, and would display that reaction without any shame at all.
I need to mull over your analysis of the male reaction more, but am right now feeling mad all over again that women are actually used to these violations. But if it takes the male outrage to change the situation, I'm ok with harnessing that.
Um, I've heard that women may be asked to remove menstrual pads. So…be careful.
Ew. Seriously? Guess I'm never flying during that time of the month again. The idea of sitting on an airplane for X number of hours wearing bloody underwear just isn't cool.
That is an excellent point about the gendered conditioning and the corresponding responses to pat-downs…I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense that the most vocal outrage (or most reported outrage via various media outlets) has been from sexed males, often performing masculinity (as they have been conditioned to do since birth in this society). Thanks for bringing this up and going into it and exploring the reasons this has been the case.
Also, of course, thank you for writing about your personal experience with the whole pat-down process. Helpful on many levels and also very decent of you to share.
Thanks for your insight into your scans, of both types. (And extra thanks for wrapping them in your ever-amusing Lesleyness!) I only fly a couple of times a year, and one of those is coming up. I very much doubt the security process at my tiny little local airport will have changed, but I'm expecting to have to make this decision when I fly back out of Dallas. I really don't like the idea of unnecessary radiation from the scan, but I think I like the idea of the grope even less, even if it is completely cupping free.
So basically, if someone wants to smuggle in a weapon or other dangerous materials, all they have to do is… wear a pad?
When I got the TSA patdown, they didn't ask me if I wanted to be in private, and it did upset me a lot more than i expected it to.
I really, really hope this comment isn't unconsciously a "what about the menz!" comment…
I think it's true there's a lot of homophobia and privilege in [straight] men's responses to this pat-down business. And yet hey, there are also lots of men who have been sexually abused/assaulted, lots of men who have been fat-shamed; and lots of men who just aren't macho-looking enough (short, fat, really skinny, delicate features, whatever) who have been body-shamed by other guys for years. (One of the guys I work with gets body-shamed a lot…supposedly for wearing shorts, but it's no coincidence that he's the smallest and slightest guy at my job.)
I also wonder–as a queer woman, one reason I hatehatehate unwanted touching is because I am afraid of homophobia. I hate those situations where some really straight, really cis- woman has to deal with my queer, gender-non-conforming body and I have to anticipate, deal with and often mitigate her dismay and disgust. I assume that for queer men (and maybe some straight men), there's probably some similar anxieties.
The last time I flew, not all the scanners were functional yet, so I sneaked through the metal detectors. I truly do not know what I'll do if I'm ever pulled for a pat-down; it's not something I think I can handle. Just thinking about it makes me nauseated.
All that I wanted to say has been said. I really just wanted to add Thank You !
Just. Thank. You.
This article really made me crack up. 🙂 If it weren't for the fact that I plan on opting out every single time I fly (I've experienced the pat-down, and personally had no visceral reactions to it, although intellectually I was outraged), I would totally do a little dance in the backscatter box. It's like, hey, I'm being objectified here anyway — at least if I make it *super*-objectified, some part of it will have been my own doing.
But I do plan on opting for the grope-down instead, if only to muck up the works as much as possible on my way through (think about it: if everyone opted for the pat-down, eventually they'd have to give up on all this nonsense because there'd just be too many of us), so I guess I'll leave the go-go dancing to others. 🙂
Excellent article — both funny and thought-provoking. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Does anyone actually think that scanning/patting down hundreds of people each day is pleasant? Do you think they enjoy their jobs? I doubt it.
Hey Lesley,
Since you've flown recently maybe you can answer this question–are you able to fit comfortably in a coach seat? I am flying internationally in July and I am really stressing out about being able to fit in the seat. For what it's worth, I am a size 24/26 and short. The coach seats are already really expensive and I don't want to have to purchase another seat.
When I was a 22/24 I fit into the seats and saw people who were larger than me doing so. I wouldn't call it comfortable (but I don't call it comfortable in 16-20 range either, and I doubt I would call it comfortable if I were a 10 or a 4).
But I didn't have to buy a second seat.
I was "searched" (more like felt up) at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. It's called underwire. I mean, really.
Really awesome post, full of the kind of good points that are so good they seem obvious once they've been made.
Without disagreeing with anything you said at all, I guess I'd also like to point out that you were modeling, yourself, that there is a healthy aspect to being used to having one's privacy invaded now and again. You learn, from experience, that some touches are offensive and others aren't – that sometimes a boob graze is an accident and sometimes it's not, that sometimes the subway really IS so crowded that the guy next to you can't help but press close, and sometimes he's taking advantage. You get a frame of reference, and make distinctions, instead of living in a world of black/white, good/bad. As far as I'm concerned, it's always good to see those shades of grey.
And I think you were also modeling the healthy, positive result of getting some perspective – you rolled with the punches, you can articulate your objections and still be comfortable (it seems, at least, from this post) with your own skin.
hetero-male – if I have to fly could I opt to have the pat down by a woman?
don't like men – don't really like being touched – have a woman dentist – if I have to start seeing a doctor it will be a woman – not just looking for a free grope – just wondering about the protocol – sorry you girls have had to put up with this by the male half of the species – men really suck!
Thank you for this Lesley. It doesn't allay any of my fears to know the details, but at least I have an idea of what to expect.
Just recently flew back from London – I apparently failed the metal detector and so I got treated to a mega pat-down + wanding. Once the chick figured out it was the massive amount of metal cantilevering my boobs into the socially acceptable position she let me go. My bf who always, without fail, sets off the detectors? Sailed through without so much as a by-your-leave. #side-eye
Hmm, interesting. A really good argument for not heading back to the US for a few years. Last time was 2002, when I was traumatised by being asked for contact numbers in case the plane blew up (they only asked US passport holders, like the rest of the plane was going to be fine).
For a few years various female members of my family would consistently be asked to step aside for an extra "voluntary" explosives scan. My mother once asked why they picked her- because she looked like she wouldn't object. Lesson learned- look like you are willing to start complaining loudly, and they stay away.
That is the problem with a lot of the scanning processes- while there are machine tools, at the end of the day it depends on the human processes, and the reactions of that person. So the answer (in the eyes of the PTB) is even higher tech machines.
I know this is totally random, but what airline did you fly on? I am flying this summer and I am looking for a fat-friendly airline. I'm nervous I'll become one of those "too fat to fly" cases.
I wonder if they're more thorough with the pat-downs if it's "voluntary" (ie, because you opted out of the scanner). I've been randomly selected from the metal detectors at Newark the last 2 times I flew and both pat-downs were pretty perfunctory. The first time I was wearing a tight skirt, which the groper didn't bother going up, and the second time I had my cat in my arms, so she just wanded my shoes — didn't actually pat me down at all.
It's amusing to me that smaller regional airports in the US have the new scanners and thorough searches sooner than an international hub like Newark. I've been groped at various international airports over the years, so am not so freaked out by that — I was more embarrassed by the two(!) thorough searches of my handbag when flying out of Guatemala…
"un-American lack of pregnancy" – I thought it was American not to have children? You know, the whole "but we're going to run out of room and resources" thing.
Lesley, sounds exactly like the pat down I always get when I go through the detectors (which always beep, despite my conscientious emptying of pockets). Last time I, too was bleeding like a mofo, and had a spare pad jammed in the pocket of my pants, along with a couple individual wet wipes (you know, for emergency cleanup!) which I gleefully handed to the TSA agent when she asked me to empty my pockets yet again. Apparently waving feminine hygiene products around was at least as embarrassing for her as for me, because she handed them right back and said they could go back in my pocket.
Thanks so much for posting this. I've been reading all the outraged and appalled man-accounts and it was sounding really scary. This sounds exactly like what already happens to me in every single airport on the planet. (I don't think I look like a terrorist, so my current explanation is I'm just so cute that security forces round the world just need to touch me to believe it.)
I laughed my ass off during my patdown; I am very ticklish all over
I believe the whole issue should be a serious one. Given the situations we have been faced with terrorism should be taken seriously. I don't see why people have to be upset when they are just trying to protect their freedom. Be happy someone else cares if you live or die.


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WordSearch1.com has a collection of Word Search games I've been working on for a little while now. I've had some issues with offensive words appearing in some of my randomly generated puzzles. If you happen to run into a word that you find offensive, please let me know.
I'm always looking for ways to improve my games. If you have any ideas, please feel free to Suggest an Improvement.
Thanks for your help, :-)

subset: commoncrawl


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This is Chris Hemsworth with his wife and his mother-in-law holding on to baby India in Madrid yesterday where the Spanish football team arrived following their Euro Cup victory over Italy. It must have been bananas in other parts of the city.
Hemsworth should begin production on Thor 2 soon. The sequel is scheduled for release November 8, 2013, two weeks before his brother Liam returns as Gale in Catching Fire. And apparently there's a third Hemsworth, Luke, who's about to get famous soon. Are there as many Hemsworths as there are Baldwins? Sure, I could google it. But some facts aren't for googling. Either you know it or you don't. Do you know the Baldwin count off the top of your head? Do you know the Hemsworth?


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Vancouver, Dublin – November 28th, 2012
FINCAD, the leading provider of OTC derivatives solutions, announced today the latest release of its cross-asset derivatives analytics library, FINCAD Analytics Suite 2013. This new version includes market consistent FX option pricing using the Vanna-Volga method, enhanced interest rate swap and bond functionality, as well as usability and performance improvements. These upgrades were made in response to customer feedback and the market need for accurate, transparent and reliable valuations and risk measurements.
Regulations, tighter margins, and the market trend towards greater transparency have escalated the requirement for accuracy and insight into all derivative calculations. Asset managers, banks, hedge funds and corporations alike are under increasing pressure to better manage and report on all aspects of their derivatives. FINCAD attributes its technological advancements to an interactive customer base and strong industry network, which enables the Company to recognize changing market demands and provide current and market consistent methodologies and analytics. With over 4000 organizations using FINCAD since 1990, the latest version of FINCAD Analytics Suite reinforces FINCAD's reputation for producing quality, market-tested analytics.
"Our focus on our customers is what drives us to continually improve the functionality of FINCAD Analytics Suite. Their needs change, whether its regulations or market pressures, and we recognize that we need to stay ahead," says Bob Park, CEO and President, FINCAD. "The market is complex, but FINCAD Analytics Suite was designed to be easy-to-use without compromising accuracy and reliability. We've been in business for more than 20 years and our analytics continue to meet the changing demands of the market."
"With even simple instruments and investments taking on a new level of complexity in the market and regulatory pressures only increasing, the derivatives market continues to change rapidly," says, CEB TowerGroup senior research director Dushyant Shahrawat. "Dodd-Frank and federal stress tests combined with tighter margin requirements continue to plague financial participants; and technology must evolve continuously to meet the needs for accuracy and transparency."
FINCAD Analytics Suite is a leading software solution that values and measures risk of financial securities and derivatives. As the industry standard, FINCAD Analytics Suite provides finance professionals with the ability to verify and validate every aspect of a valuation across multiple asset classes. The software is available as a Microsoft® Excel-based solution for end users and as a software development kit for embedding FINCAD's analytics into financial software.
For more information about FINCAD Analytics Suite 2013, visit www.fincad.com/2013.
About FINCAD
Founded in 1990, FINCAD provides advanced modeling solutions built on award-winning, patent pending technology. With more than 4,000 clients in over 80 countries around the world, FINCAD is the leading provider of financial risk analytics technology, enabling global market participants to make informed hedging and investment decisions. FINCAD provides software and services supporting the valuation, reporting and risk management of derivatives and fixed income portfolios to banks, corporate treasuries, hedge funds, asset management firms, audit firms, and governments. FINCAD Analytics can be accessed through Excel, MATLAB, as a Software-as-a-Service or embedded into an existing system through software development kits. Now, over 70 FINCAD Alliance Partners embed FINCAD Analytics within their solutions. FINCAD provides sales and client services from Dublin, Ireland, and Vancouver, Canada. www.fincad.com
Media Contact:
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Direct: +1.604.831.9599
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Gresser Political Science Scholarship
The Lynn Gresser Political Science Endowed Scholarship Fund
Ms. Lynn Gresser attended the College of Saint Benedict where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government/Political Science and Spanish. She went on to receive a Master of Science degree in education from St. Cloud State University. Ms. Gresser served as a high school teacher for 33 years. She was active in numerous civic and non-profit organizations. She passed away in 2008 from a long-term illness. Lynn Gresser's love of learning and political science lives on with this scholarship.
The Lynn Gresser Political Science Endowed Scholarship awards a scholarship to a CSB and a SJU junior or sophomore political science major each spring. Selection is based on financial need and academic achievement. The recipients are selected by the members of the political science department.


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Mexico, Servicio Postal Mexicano, asks us to inform the designated operators of other Union member countries that, as of Friday, 16 February 2018 at 19.00 local time, it will carry out a migration of its data centre. Dispatches of all mail classes will be affected (inbound and outbound); in addition, electronic data interchange (EDI) transmission will be interrupted from that time until Monday, 19 February at 8.00 local time.
Servicio Postal Mexicano thanks designated operators for their understanding.


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GIF extract form Hito Steyerl, How Not To Be Seen. A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File , 2013. HD video file, single screen, 14min.
How Not to be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File is the title of Hito Steyerl's new work, included in the Venice Biennale exhibition Il Palazzo Enciclopedico. (It is installed at the far back corner of the Giardino delle Vergini behind the Arsenale; to reach it, Steyerl joked, one must swim two canals and climb a wall).
The video is partly inspired by the photo calibration targets in the California desert, which look like giant pixels in the ground. As described by the Center for Land Use Interpretation, these targets were used in the age of analog aerial photography to test the resolution of airborne cameras, like a kind of optometrist's chart for the ancestors of drones.
Three Tri-bar targets at Cuddeback Lak. Photo: CLUI.
Partly shot on location at one of these disused targets, How Not to be Seen begins as an instructional video informing viewers how to remain invisible in an age of image proliferation. Various possible strategies are outlined. One suggestion is to camouflage oneself (to demonstrate, Steyerl smears green paint on her face and is chroma-keyed into invisibility). Another suggested tactic is to be smaller than the size of a pixel. For this demonstration, several people appear on camera wearing pixel-like boxes on their heads. Wearing a box on one's head may seem unpleasant, but in Steyerl's video it seems quite fun, imbued with some of the techno-human spirit of Bauhaus theater costumes.
After these tactics are outlined, the film crew making this educational video also disappears. In their absence, happy low-resolution pixels take over the production. Digital rendering ghosts dance in the desert landscape as The Three ...


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Monday, Monday, Monday.. always comes so quickly doesn't it?! No complaints here though, we had such a great weekend!
How was yours?
Dave and I went on our favourite late afternoon hike on Friday (through Hort Park and up to Henderson Waves Bridge), the weather was beautiful so it made for a really nice walk.
Then on Saturday we went to check out the new indoor marketplace PasarBella which was fun! Followed by a wander around the Arab Quarter, and dinner and drinks at Dempsey Hill (I fell head over heels for the wooden bear above, who was situated at the front of a really cool bar). Sunday was much more lazy, and I didn't take any photos.. we ended up at a shopping mall, wandering the stores with thousands of other people ;)
I hope your weekend was just as good! x


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Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
from the victory-and-defeat dept
And the winner of this week's most insightful comment is... George Orwell! Or, well, not exactly — it's actually That One Guy passing along a quote by the former, in response to the conversation about journalists exposing government secrets:
"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell, British writer (1903-1950)
In second place, and in response to the former East German Stasi officer's mixed reaction to America's surveillance program, we've got RyanNerd with his own perspective:
I Want My Country Back
I was born in the mid sixties. As a teenager I grew up with pride in my country knowing that we were free from the oppressions of communism and governmental overreach. The Soviets were the enemy in a cold war. Today I wonder what country I live in. My country seems to view it's own citizens as the enemy now. I no longer recognize America for what it once was. Here are some stark contrasts to the "red threat" when I was young and how our country is behaving today.
It was the Soviet's that secretly spied on it's own people and criminalized those that the government didn't like. Not whistleblowers on the NSA.
It was the communists that would gather information on telephone calls and communications on it's own citizens without a warrant and without probable cause. Not the NSA spying on it's own citizens.
It was Pravda the Russian state run newspaper that suppressed accurate reporting and was used as a propaganda tool. Not a Fox News reporter being accused by the US government of espionage for doing his job.
It was the wealthy, privileged and powerful in the Kremlin who forced their politics onto the people. Not the IRS targeting political groups who have views that differ from the current regime.
Cover ups only happened in places like Chernobyl. Not at American consulates in Benghazi
Twisting of the press and the denial of the Holodomor famine only happened in Communist controlled Russia. Not with the US Department of Justice's massive data gathering of AP reporters phone records, and having their emails monitored.
Secret puppet courts only existed in communist countries. Not in the US where over 160 witnesses are expected to testify against Bradley Manning in a secret military court.
It was only Soviet leaders that could murder it's own citizens without probable cause and without due process. Not the United States using drones against its own citizens.
It was only in Soviet Russia that there was no constitution which allowed the government to wield absolute power. Not the so called Patriot Act that subverts due process, probable cause and can force indefinite detainment by just an accusation of treason or terrorism.
It was the KGB that could "stop and frisk" any citizen at any time without probable cause. Not the NY police department.
It was the communists that had armed troops in the streets and performed military style house to house searches. Not in Boston Massachusetts.
It would only be communists that would claim that people complaining about their situation are terrorists. Not the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation accusing their citizens of being terrorists when they complained about their water quality.
Only in Soviet Russia no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling police roamed the streets and the citizens watched as their comrades were torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes. Not in Bakersfield California where nine officers and one police dog were "needed" to subdue an allegedly drunk man who died after being beaten repeatedly by the police. Then the witnesses to this event had their cameras and cell phones confiscated as "evidence" and these were returned to them with the videos being deleted.
It was the Politburo that created vague laws making simple common actions criminal. Not the CFAA that makes it a federal crime to "access a computer without authorization or in a way that exceeds authorization" thus making it possible for prosecutors to jail a person who violates a website's terms of service.
It was in Soviet Russia where a person was guilty and had to prove their innocence. Not America where there are so many unknown and ridiculous laws that possessing a lobster of a certain size is a federal crime.
In Soviet Russia you feared everything because any action could be twisted as against the law if government didn't like you. Not in America where ignorance of the law is impossible to avoid because lawmakers themselves are not really sure how many criminal laws there are.
It was the KGB did not require any recording of the testimony of the witnesses they were interviewing. Not in America where the FBI's no recording policy allows for the statements of those they interview to be falsified, editorialized or reinterpreted.
In Soviet Russia everything was owned by the state. Not in America where when the IRS was audited for inappropriate expenses they then claimed they could not find the receipts.
In the Kremlin was where everything was kept secret and there was no transparency. Not in America where the current administration claimed to be the most transparent administration in History and has in fact become the exact opposite.
For editor's choice, we start with jupiterkansas, who looked at Pandora's response to the RIAA's lies, and identified a big part of what's going on:
Today, over 70 million listeners tune in to our service every month, where they hear the music of well over 100,000 different artists. These artists span the entire musical spectrum; from the well-known to the completely obscure, representing every imaginable genre. The vast majority of our collection gets no other form of radio airplay.This is why the RIAA is attacking Pandora. They put indie and unknown artists on equal ground as RIAA artists. The RIAA can't control who gets played the way they do on radio, and therefore can't leverage themselves as gatekeepers.
And up next we've got Zakida Paul on the post about the MPAA's ongoing attempts to screw the blind, where he struggled with the broader themes at play:
I started out believing that copyright has a place in the creative industries and that it just needed to be reformed.
Every day something happens to push me more and more toward the belief that copyright has no place and needs to be abolished completely. Organisations like the MPAA, RIAA and BPI are to blame for this.
Despite their ongoing crusade, the MPAA actually didn't get its wishes when it came to the Marrakech treaty for the blind. From that post, we get our funniest comment of the week, courtesy of an anonymous commenter with a new headline idea for the post:
MPAA tried hard to screw over the blind, but got blindsided.
Our next funny comment also comes from a post about people who aren't used to losing finally getting the experience — this time when Ecuador fought back against the US over threats about Ed Snowden. One commenter suggested the US was acting like a three-year-old, to which Chris Brand replied:
I thought "acting like a 3 year old" was official US Foreign Policy.
For editor's choice, we start with FM Hilton responding to Rep. Mike Rogers, who called Snowden a traitor and argued for "theft of government property" charges:
It's still true
You can't fix stupid, but you can get them elected to Congress.
And finally, we've got a comment from our post about the dentist who threatened a patient with criminal charges for leaving a bad Yelp review. One commenter suggested he should sue his lawyer for malpractice, but an anonymous responder had a better idea:
Or maybe this dentist should leave a yelp review on his attorney...That's all for this week — see you tomorrow folks!
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone's attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team


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Millennium Entertainment has picked up the 3D family animation, which has been a big seller for Cinema Management Group (CMG).
The distributor will release in North America in summer 2013 after Tristen Tuckfield negotiated the deal with CMG chief Edward Noeltner.
CMG previously licensed rights to Luxor in Russia, Santo Domingo in Mexico, VC Multimedia Portugal, Front Row in the Middle East and Asian-A in China, among others.
Khumba follows a half-striped zebra on his quest to earn his stripes. Jake T Austin, AnnaSophia Robb, Loretta Devine and Roger Jackson are among the voice cast and negotiations are underway with a high-profile name expected to be announced shortly.
Director Anthony Silverston wrote the screenplay with Lion King writer Jonathan Roberts and Raffaella Delle Donne. Stuart Forrest of Triggerfish Animation serves as producer.
"What a great way to kick off AFM," said Noeltner. "We are excited by the plans that Millennium Entertainment has in place for the theatrical distribution of Khumba in 2013. We are thrilled to be working with everyone over at Millennium and feel our film is in good hands with a talented group behind the release."


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SUNY Canton Receives Funding to Support Environmental Technology Training
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that SUNY Canton will receive approximately $100,000 to construct a state-of-the-art teaching and research lab that will benefit the College's environmental technology students and the North Country.
The facility, which will be located in the Nevaldine Technology Center, will be outfitted with the same leading-edge equipment that is used by professionals working in environmental engineering technology and geotechnical fields. Construction is scheduled to begin later this month and is anticipated to be complete this fall.
"The new lab will give students the opportunity to test water samples, design water and wastewater treatment system components and learn how to improve water quality," said Adrienne C. Rygel, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Civil and Environmental Technology program.
In addition to providing training necessary to allow students to be more competitive in today's job market, Rygel said the lab can also be used to conduct continuing education courses for regional water and wastewater treatment professionals and programs for secondary education students interested in the environmental field.
The funding is part of a broad effort to help meet the state's demand for skilled workers in engineering, healthcare, renewable and clean energy, biotechnology, agriculture and information technology. Thirty-six SUNY campuses received funding to support workforce development in high-needs fields.
"The High Needs Program and others like it are helping fulfill SUNY's original purpose: to be world class institutions that foster cutting edge innovation and train the next generation of high tech workers," said Gov. Cuomo.
About SUNY Canton:
SUNY Canton offers a variety of career-driven bachelor's degrees in addition to its associate and certificate programs. In the past year, the College added two new bachelor's degrees and expanded its facilities with a new athletic center, nicknamed Roos House, and the Grasse River Suites Residence Hall. The College's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to their academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers flexible and convenient online courses and programs. The College's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III as well as the USCAA.
Tags: Adrienne Rygel, Andrew Cuomo, environmental technology


text:
What could have been a dope performance between two greats, Billie Eilish and Vince Staples, just didn't turn out as expected. Staples joined Eilish on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California to perform their hit song &burn, but to the fans dismay, there was a mic malfunction.
Billie has referred to Vince as being "a god." Commenting during an interview that his work made him her top choice to feature on the song.
"Vince Staples was my NUMBER 1 choice, so when we got him to hear it and he agreed to do, it was incredible and the verse he did is so mf good," she said. "He is a god and I'm excited for it to finally come out!"
So you can imagine the excitement from fans expected to witness the magic on stage. However, with the malfunction, Twitter fans were not having it. Fans directed their anger towards the festival for not turning on Staples' mic.
One user tweeted: "watching the coachella livestream heated that I couldn't hear vince staples' feature during billie eilish."
Same girl, same.
Another user wrote: "y'all gonna have vince staples FINALLY perform &burn with billie and forget to turn his mic on? ok."
Billie's set list included:
bad guy
my strange addiction
you should see me in a crown
&burn (with Vince Staples)
wish you were gay
all the good girls go to hell
bury a friend
when the party's over
ocean eyes
Check out the &burn video below!


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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Wed 28 Dec 2011, 17:20
Post subject: Internet stuff :-)} here
Webrender, a fast qt browser.
Note: I have rebuilt this package. The first version had a non-puppy lib requirement of gtk6 which was got around by by another pet I had loaded for another package which I have decided not to use as it was not stable enough.
Last edited by scsijon on Mon 09 Jan 2012, 21:33; edited 1 time in total
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Mon 02 Jan 2012, 19:13
Post subject: QT4 Components
Complete Qt4 Pets for warz, but should work with all others, includes things like QtDBus components.
Split into three parts, usually you only need the first
Base, Dev and Nls in one
Qt4 Doc's
Demo and Example files if needed
coming soon
Last edited by scsijon on Mon 02 Jan 2012, 22:27; edited 1 time in total
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Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Posts: 5485
Location: Finland
Posted: Mon 02 Jan 2012, 19:18
Post subject:
Do you have QtWebkit included ?
If yes, I suggest you to test qupzilla web browser. It has behaved nice. I compiled it in Qt-4.8.0.
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Mon 02 Jan 2012, 22:03
Post subject:
pemasu wrote:
Do you have QtWebkit included ?
If yes, I suggest you to test qupzilla web browser. It has behaved nice. I compiled it in Qt-4.8.0.
Certainly do pemasu, will give qupzilla a go as I do like mozilla and use firefox for daily use, although I do like the webrender and qtweb packages.
The only thing not included, as far as I know, is motiff as I didn't have the libraries and dev files for the qt4 compiler to link it into. Part of the reason for the 'large' size, even after compressing.
I will remind everyone here, that QtPuppy is designed to be a Builders Puppy and thus will never be as small as the normal desktop varieties! I will consider that if the final V1 release fits on a standard cd (450meg), it's good
, if it's under 256meg it's great, but I will be checking for what i've taken out in error
By the way, if anyone downloads from my website and finds the pet won't open, can they please leave a PM here as i've found a couple of packages lately I've uploaded ok (by byte-size) but not when downloaded again. The problem is in my website providers techs to work out why and I want to give them extra info if I can to help them.
edit: yours didn't work, but I suspected that as it was 480. Will have a build myself but I am leaning towards my latest build of webrender as it's horribly fast!
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Sat 21 Jan 2012, 17:58
Post subject:
22 Jan 2012
Unfortunately, having fixed one developers tool problem, another more serious problem has appeared with warz522010, the ld Dynamic Link Loader in the binutils package is not working correctly in all cases, I will try to build a slightly later one that has the patches to fix the LD problems before going forward again!
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Wed 25 Jan 2012, 20:34
Post subject:
The top of the first message says it all I think!
The only other things will be the fla (four-letter-acronym) will change to suit the base (or maybe i'll start my own).
I will give any updates if I find a relevant one or consider them a needed warning on this topic.
Otherwise I may be a little bit quiet for a while, but will still be around and maybe I'll go back to testing others work on my crazy boxes.
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Joined: 09 May 2008
Posts: 908
Location: Moorooka, Queensland
Posted: Thu 26 Jan 2012, 05:35
Post subject:
Onyer! Oi oi oi ...
Search engines for Puppy
Google Custom Search
others TBA...
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Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 365
Posted: Thu 09 Feb 2012, 15:24
Post subject:
Hey! Try using Arch as a base!
Razor-qt + Eggwm + Arch = Chakra puppy!
(Well a guy can dream)
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Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 2549
Location: near here
Posted: Thu 23 Feb 2012, 12:59
Post subject:
Hi scsijon,
Have been testing QtPuppy on Althon 64 3.2Ghz with 1Gb
Its working quite nicely, here's some feedback-
1) The first reboot savefile messages are slightly confusing because it takes a while before loading the savefile prompt when you select 'make savefile'. Any chance you could add a dialogue saying
'make savefile selected - please wait. I think this problem may be comnon to Racy/Wary and Slacko
2) I selected 'fido' instead of root - it wouldn't let me change it back. Then I selected xorg it got an error '/tmp/wm ... ... can not be moved' and then it wouldn't let me reboot - just return the same error and back to the desktop. When I deleted savefile and ran as root all along it was fine. Again this may be a Wary problem.
3) Got online using Lucid version of Frisbee as usual - Network Wizard no good.
3) QtWeb seems to crash a lot.
4) I'm going to try installing Qtractor. http://qtractor.sourceforge.net/qtractor-index.html
Do you know if its possible to upgrade ALSA independently of the rest of the OS?
I know your on a break so will check back in a few months ; -) thanks again
helping Wiki for help
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Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 2549
Location: near here
Posted: Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:55
Post subject:
had a go at qtractor, but it reckons qt4.2 or greater isn't present
checking for gcc... gcc
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
checking for C compiler default output file name... a.out
checking for suffix of executables...
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ISO C89... none needed
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
checking for g++... g++
checking whether we are using the GNU C++ compiler... yes
checking whether g++ accepts -g... yes
checking how to run the C++ preprocessor... g++ -E
checking for grep that handles long lines and -e... /bin/grep
checking for egrep... /bin/grep -E
checking whether gcc needs -traditional... no
checking for Qt library version >= 4.2... no; Qt 4.2 or greater is required
on a forum it says libqt4-dev is needed - cannot find it in QtPuppy
helping Wiki for help
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Fri 23 Mar 2012, 01:34
Post subject:
OK, were back at it!
darkcity, will look at things again when I have the 'base' bit working for most people, suspect the problem was really the location, as in the meantime i've found out there are a lot of hardcoded qt4 location apps that need to be told it's elsewhere and there was no-where it was set correctly in path, just via the set statement. (in todo list). EDIT: just looked at website, from versions I suspect it's a libstdc++6 problem, mage has it!
gnuxo, building on magelia 2 means it can be cross-built as arch, as well as others will be available, when I have hardware (promised / coming later in the year). May even do an mac!
I ACTUALLY HAVE BECOME VERY EXCITED WITH WHAT IS ALREADY AVAILABLE VIA MAGEIA! Their packagelist is over 9000 individual application packages.
Window Manager / Desktops are: KDE, Gnome, LDXE and XFCE4, to start with, plus, dwm, scrotwm, i3, pekwm, AfterStep, awesome, Enlightenment (e17), fvwm2, icewm, openbox and WindowMaker available by pick, with a few others in development phases.
Anyone looking for a good Animation Software package should look at Pencil-Planner too.
anyway enough for now, i've got a last few bugs to fix before 'showdown' on the sunday release!
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Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 365
Posted: Fri 23 Mar 2012, 22:14
Post subject:
I'm not a coder nor proficient enough to understand how mageia is similar to Arch.
I thought Mageia was based on Mandriva.
As for the desktop enviros..., I am really looking forward to just Razor-qt with eggwm.
I've already talked to a member of the Chakra linux crew and he was super excited when he heard about QTpup. I was sad when the package was cancelled but now I can go back and tell him that the package is back on.
One of the reasons I asked for Arch as a base is that, well...I spent a while talking to a guy from the Chakra linux crew. And I couldn't help but let my imagination take me away.
Anyway...back to reality.
I think that the default file manager should be Dino because it's basically a qt version of Pcmanfm but with some extra neat features.
Does anyone know if there is a QT equivalent to gnome mplayer and gecko-mediaplayer? I don't like flash and Adobe has basically waved bye bye to linux anyways. I usually use browser addons to watch online video anyway.
Maybe VLC 2.0 and the VLC 2.0 plugin could work?
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Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: the australian mallee
Posted: Fri 23 Mar 2012, 22:47
Post subject:
gnuxo, sorry thought you meant the arch hardware, not base, I shall have a look at it anyway for you. As long as you have some scripting knowledge, and puppy has lessons on that, you could always have a go, you don't have to be a programmer, just be able to nut out what goes with what.
mplayer is replaced by gstreamer as backend and for now, clemintine as front end until, I have investigated a couple of others (Jemimahs Saluki is using it if you want to try).
I do have eggwm on my list.
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Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 2549
Location: near here
Posted: Sat 24 Mar 2012, 07:00
Post subject:
yep, regarding compiling qtractor - I think your right about having to correct location. I've managed to compile on Polar pup, but that needed some symlinks adding for it pick up the qt files. Will check with qt pup when I get some time ; -)
helping Wiki for help
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Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 365
Posted: Sat 24 Mar 2012, 10:13
Post subject:
I've not used Arch aside from some small glimpses at Archbang or Chakra.
I'm still hesitant to try mess with a full Arch to learn the ropes as well.
I don't have the time to really try or the confidence that I won't break my hardware.
However the speed and minimal nature of Arch was always appealing to me.
Puppy's minimal nature and speed has always impressed me, thus it's only natural that one would come to the conclusion that a puppy based on arch would have be very quick and potentially slimmer and more minimal then others.
The one thing that was ironed out during my conversation with that chakra dev is that considering that .pets are very cross platform and there are also the sfs files, that puppy doesn't need to be a rolling release, maybe semi-rolling for those who have rewritable cds and don't feel like re-burning every major update.
...Or maybe for those that just have a frugal install?
But having used Slacko and seeing that you could just go into pkgs.org and download and install tar.gx packages for slackware or Arch via right click, I don't have a doubt that installing the most bleeding edge of some programs wouldn't be a major plus in choosing the Arch base.
Anyway...thanks for taking a look into it.
I've used Totem on Linux Mint and I've used Parole before as well.
I actually prefer Parole, it's lighter then gnome mplayer and works better with Midori. Unfortunately it's gtk based as is anything Xfce.
There is a command line gstreamer player that I stumbled upon at Softpedia.
It's called GST123
It's not dependent on any particular libraries other then gstreamer, so you might be able to write a script that allows opening media files with it and maybe even a little plugin for browsers that would let it handle all mime types and open video/audio in a popup terminal window. It's not even dependent on X so you could watch Youtube theoretically right from terminal.
That could reduce the iso size while maintaining strong functionality. Also watching video from terminal would be smoother potentially and far less resource intensive for the older machines for which every megabyte of ram is crucial.
Edit: Actually forget Gst123, it needs gtk.
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Costumes & Dress-Up
Dress-up and costumes aren't just for Halloween! Your child can become anyone or anything, any day of the year, with fun and versatile costumes from Yogee Toys! Kids of all sizes can become Disney and Barbie princesses, DC and Marvel superheroes, or galactic warriors from Star Wars. Add superhero accessories and fairy or princess jewellery and tattoos for even more fun! Yogee has scarier Halloween costumes, like witches, ghouls, skeletons and vampires, too. Your child could be a dinosaur, a chef, or a firefighter to make pretend-time more real!
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Gearbox creative dude Mikey Neumann twitter-teased some sort of announcement yesterday that had to get pulled back, but it looks like PS3Trophies.org stole the show. Four new trophies tip off some coliseum-based DLC in the works.
Here's what we got. Haven't seen these on Xbox Live (the version I play) yet. Take that for what you will:
• Small Tournament - Completed the lesser challenge in all 3 coliseums
• Hell-Burbia - Completed the larger challenge in the Hell-Burbia coliseum
• The Angelic Ruins - Completed the larger challenge in The Angelic Ruins coliseum
• The Gully - Completed the larger challenge in The Gully coliseum
•Big Tournament - Completed each of the larger challenges in all 3 coliseums
"Challenges" obviously point to the in-game-only achievements that reward beaucoup XP, so who knows what the exact parameters are.
Yesterday morning, Neumann got giddy and said "some little birdies might sing in or around an hour," but apparently jumped the gun. Two hours later, he pulled back the announcement, and proceeded to take shit for it. So your cover's blown, might as well spill the beans @mikeyface!
DLC Added: Borderlands [PS3Trophies.org via Destructoid]